A new report indicates a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro that uses a mini-LED display is on schedule for launch.
The news comes from well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who says a number of upcoming Apple products will use mini-LED displays, and that they won’t be delayed by coronavirus. In addition to the 14.1-inch MacBook Pro, these products include a 27-inch iMac Pro set to arrive in the fourth quarter of 2020, as well as a 16-inch MacBook Pro, a 10.2-inch iPad, a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and a 7.9-inch iPad mini — all of which will also be released in 2020.
Most of these products have used traditional LED screens in the past, unlike the premium iPhones that use OLED displays, also known as Super Retina.” Mini-LED is a new display technology that’s come to televisions, but is just now beginning to arrive in laptops and smaller screens. Mini-LED offers many of the same benefits of OLED, such as deeper blacks and higher contrast, but it’s more power efficient and less prone to burn-in.
News that a 27-inch iMac Pro is set for release later this year is noteworthy as well. It has not been updated since late 2017 and uses outdated Intel Xeon processors.
Reports had been pointing toward an official announcement at a press event in late March, where an update to the 13-inch MacBook Pro was expected to be announced. A 14-inch MacBook Pro lines up well with Apple’s recent update to the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which increases the screen size but cuts the bezels down a bit to maintain a similar overall footprint.
We also expect this 14-inch MacBook Pro to get updated with the “Magic Keyboard,” which would replace the controversial butterfly switch keyboard. The longer key travel of the Magic Keyboard has been well received as more reliable and enjoyable to type on. There has, however, been mixed reporting on how quickly Apple will switch all its laptops to the Magic Keyboard.
We also expect this 14-inch MacBook Pro to get updated processors. The obvious choice (and likely one) are 10th-gen Intel Ice Lake processors, which include improved integrated Iris Plus graphics. There’s a chance Apple could switch to AMD’s latest Ryzen 4000 processors, which are set to launch at a similar timetable and would bring impressive eight-core chips to the smaller MacBook Pro.
